I felt like a real New Yorker! I ran into the nearest bake shop, screaming "I need a cake!" Why may you ask? They flubbed Granny's 100th Birthday cake. It was supposed to be magical *Je Sigh* I ran in and was immediately greeted and alleviated seeing a nice cake selection. I chose a Large Strawberry Shortcake. Only had to wait 7 minutes and it came in a nice cute tote. I love totes ya'll. Carrot Top Pastries is a nice cozy spot with excellent customer service! Ceceli and the team saved the day! Give them a try. Hopefully there isn't another cake emergency next time I get to stop by!

Love them. Been coming here for well over a decade to consistently good service. Always love their carrot cake but lately I've been enjoying their club sandwiches too.

I recently visited NYC and make it a point to buy their carrot muffins every time I'm in town. I was introduced to this bakery back in 2007 when I worked at the Hospital next door. They have the best carrot muffins in the whole world. I look forward to making a visit to Carrot Top yearly. Wish we had one in California. Thank you!

This bakery has the best carrot muffins that I've ever tasted. My mother has raved about them for at least 10 years. When I finally tried it, I understood the hype. I usually get it toasted with a little bit of butter. -I recently also bought a slice of the chocolate cheesecake which was delicious. It was a perfect balance and not overly sweet, the rich chocolate cake complimented the cheesecake. -Word of advice: there is no parking in this area so take public transportation or park in a lot.

Love their carrot cake!!! Def better than Lloyds IMO because it has a lot more spice. They always have carrot cake in person, but sell all kinds of cakes, pastries, and cookies.

A tasty pastry shop near Columbia Presbyterian Hospital! This might look like a hole in the wall when passing by, but step inside and take a pick from MANY cake/pastry varieties. The carrot cake is its most famous slice for good reason. This slice is the perfect amount of moist and sweet. The buttercream frosting is also not overly sweet which is usually the case with most cakes. It's perfect to gift someone on their birthday or just to brighten someone's day - not too expensive either! The other flavors are pretty good but nothing extraordinary. Will definitely come back when in Washington Heights!

Nice bakery and deli very close to Columbia Presbyterian and Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. Right off the 168th subway stop. Some small casual seating inside. Great prices. Burnt bitter coffee. I normally drink mine black and I was craving cream and sugar. Bacon egg and cheese for $6. Rugelach for $2.25. BEC was good. Roll was fresh. Good portion of egg. A little skimpy on bacon. Street cart would have been better (nyc street carts have some of the best food) but it was nice to sit down. Good portion sandwich. This place is known for its carrot cake pastries. I had a carrot cake muffin. Good portion. Had raisins and nuts. Very good carrot flavor and you could see the carrot shreds. Husband had a vanilla cupcake with chocolate frosting. It was rock hard when he got it and had to wait a few hours at room temp. He said the icing was delicious but the cake was dry and terrible. He threw the cake part out. Rugelach hasn't been tried yet. Would definitely go back based on the indoor seating and reasonable prices. Nice alternative to hospital food.

tl;dr their accolades were certainly well-deserved -- definitely swing by for the top-notch carrot cake, but pass on the non-carrot baked goods Carrot Top Pastries has been well-regarded in NYC, boasting the self-proclaimed best carrot cake in the city. A recent visit to Washington Heights was the perfect opportunity to check out the hype myself. The custom, orange-and-green neon signs and backlight bakery display span two walls and pop out against the muted tiles and dimly-lit room. The walls are otherwise decked with memorabilia representing Carrot Top's many accolades. A few varnished wooden tables and green-cushioned chairs are dispersed around the space. I popped into this location midday, and there were a few other folks browsing the options. One staff member was brusque, while another was clueless, but I still managed to successfully secure a slice of carrot cake and a brownie. The carrot cake was intensely carrot-y and perfectly sweet. The cake itself was dense yet moist, slightly grainy sporting large chunks of walnuts, complemented well by heavy cream cheese icing. Brownie, in contrast, was a letdown. It was nearly as dense as fudge, yet strangely didn't taste overwhelmingly sweet or chocolatey. Further, it was overwhelmingly walnut-y, with a layer on top and large chunks many mixed in. My items set me back right around $10, expensive on paper, but fair considering that each individual item could easily be divided between two folks. While I admittedly don't love carrot cake and wouldn't usually order it, I would return to Carrot Top for their spot-on rendition.